GREENBURGH, N.Y. — The Knicks have had one particularly bad quarter in many of their games this season.

They've at least given themselves a chance in other periods, but one terrible quarter negates all of it.

How to keep it from happening remains the question they aren't able to answer.

"I can not put my thumb on it," Knicks coach David Fizdale said after his team's practice Sunday. "I just can not."

The Knicks have attributed everything from youth to getting off to slow starts to a lack of energy after halftime.

Whatever the reason, bad quarters have cost the Knicks as losses pile up.

The latest occurrence came Friday night when the Knicks led the Atlanta Hawks by nine points at halftime, only to surrender the lead in the third quarter and were outscored by seven points in the period.

"We just for whatever reason, we’re hitting a wall in that third quarter," Fizdale said after the game. "That’s our new quarter for some reason."

At times this season, the first quarter was the problem. The Knicks would get off to a terrible start, especially defensively, and dig themselves a hole too big to climb out of.

But the third quarter has been the problem lately for the Knicks, who have dropped four straight games and 11 of their last 13.

In last week's loss to the Phoenix Suns, who entered Sunday with eight wins, the Knicks surrendered 41 points in the third quarter and scored just 17.

They lost by 18 points.

"I feel like sometimes we’ll be up at halftime or something or we’ll be up in the game and we just get comfortable and get away from what we were doing up until that point to have the lead," Noah Vonleh said. "So we just gotta grow and get out of those lapses and be better defensively.”

The Knicks haven't been able to fix the issue yet. Time will tell whether they're able to.

"I’ve looked at the combinations," Fizdale said. "It’s different guys every time that are out on the floor. It’s just something we’re going to have to figure out. This is what we’ve got to suffer through right now. The way our guys approach this deal, the way they keep coming back to work, we will find our way through it."

Allonzo Trier returns

Guard Allonzo Trier practiced Sunday and will be available to play Tuesday against the Milwaukee Bucks at the Garden.

"We got Zo back for Christmas," Fizdale said. "A nice little gift."

New York Knicks guard Allonzo Trier practiced Sunday and will be available to play Tuesday against the Milwaukee Bucks.(Photo: Brad Mills/USA TODAY SPORTS)

Trier's return should will boost the Knicks' offense. He's averaging 11.3 points and shooting 47 percent from the field and 39.1 percent from the perimeter in his rookie season.

Still, the Knicks will have to take steps to make sure Trier doesn't aggravate his hamstring again.

"Super careful," Fizdale said. "Hamstrings are one of the most delicate injuries at least that I’ve seen in basketball. When a guy pulls that hammy, if he goes too hard on it after he comes back he goes right back and sometimes worse. We’ve got to be mindful of that."

Mitchell Robinson update

Mitchell Robinson, who sprained his left ankle against the Charlotte Hornets Dec. 14, has progressed in his rehab, moving from an immobilization boot to an ankle brace, the team said.